Ash's Pokémon Travel Has Big Problems

After a long while, Giovanni's voice slowly came through, still steady, but seemingly containing something deeper: "Golden Gyarados... Viridian Forest... Interesting."

He paused, then suddenly asked a question that caught Meow Meow completely off guard:

"Meow meow."

"In your opinion..."

"What kind of 'trainer' is Ash Ketchum?"

Meow Meow was stunned, blinking its eyes. It hadn't expected its boss to ask that.

It carefully recalled its brief, oppressive encounter with Ash.

I recall his statement, "No one understands Pokémon better than me."

I recall his composure when faced with Gyarados going out of control and Team Rocket's attack.

I recall how he casually pointed out the price he paid for trying to speak like a human.

It also reminded me of that conversation in the forest, which seemed like a curse, that made it inexplicably use high-speed stars.

Meow Meow carefully chose her words and answered cautiously, "He...he's very strange, meow...he's clearly a newcomer, but he seems like a king standing at the top, meow."

"That's scary...meow."

"He seems to completely disregard conventions, he's incredibly audacious, and he'll get whatever he wants..."

"But... he seems to be... actually quite nice to his Pokémon, meow?"

"At least that Gyarados was beaten so badly by him, yet it still obeyed him obediently..."

The meowing grew softer and softer.

It found that the more it spoke, the more complex and contradictory the boy's image became, and the more... unsettling it became.

This fully exposes the inner turmoil in Meow Meow's heart.

The verbal therapy Xiao Zhi gave it that day had a huge impact.

If someone lies to you about a god, you'll definitely think they're a liar, but what if they really teach you how to use the Palm Lightning technique?

On the other end of the phone, Sakaki listened quietly without interrupting.

Only after Miao Miao finished speaking did he let out a soft, almost emotionless laugh.

The laughter was very short, but it sent a chill down Meow Meow's spine for no apparent reason.

"understood."

"I'll send someone to rescue them."

"Meow meow."

"Stay in the vicinity until they pull it out."

"Take a closer look at that young man named Xiaozhi."

"Report at any time."

"Beep...beep...beep..."

The phone call was abruptly and decisively ended.

Meow Meow stood blankly on the phone booth, holding the receiver, when a cold sweat broke out on her back.

What did the boss mean by his last words?

Is it just simple surveillance?

Or is it... some kind of deeper... "concern"?

The Rockets also recruit new players.

For promising trainers... the Rockets will also compete with the league for talent.

Meow Meow shook her head, not daring to think about it any further.

It left the phone booth and ran towards Ash's direction.

far away.

Ash was standing in the sea breeze of Cerulean City, gazing at the shimmering sea, seemingly lost in thought.

Chapter 38 Parting with Meow Meow

"Pikachu..."

"Our future will be as vast and boundless as this ocean..." Ash looked into the distance, where the lake and the ocean meet.

The sea is boundless.

Our future should be like this too.

"Pikachu?" Pikachu looked at the lake, then at the direction Ash was looking—that was the sea.

What is the sea?

The current Pikachu doesn't really understand.

It can only be understood as a very, very large body of water.

While this understanding isn't entirely wrong, it's not vivid enough.

The sea breeze, carrying a salty, damp scent, blew through the park in Cerulean City, ruffling Ash's bangs.

He gazed at the lake, which shimmered with golden light under the sun, for a long time before slowly turning around.

because.

Meow meow is here.

Ash looked at the somewhat uneasy Meowth in front of him, his face expressionless, and simply spoke calmly:

"Okay, meow meow."

"you're free."

Play hard to get?

Seven captures and seven releases?

...None of these matter.

Letting Meow Meow stay with the Rockets might allow them to do something useful in the future.

Ash is very wary of Team Rocket.

Or rather, all the villainous organizations in the world are within his control.

These guys are prone to causing big trouble all the time, so we have to be careful.

"Huh?" Meow Meow suddenly raised its head, its green eyes filled with astonishment and disbelief. "Freedom? Meow?"

It thought it had misheard.

This human, who went to great lengths to subdue it and even helped it learn to fly at high speed, just so easily... let it go?

Wouldn't that mean we gained absolutely nothing?

And what about Boss Sakaki's mission?

Meow Meow feels conflicted right now...

Should we listen to Sakaki or not?

Should we listen to Xiaozhi?

The two tasks conflicted.

...While Meowth was pondering this question, Ash had already achieved his goal.

"Just stay near the police station and wait." Ash's tone remained calm, as if he were talking about something trivial. "Someone will come to bail out Musashi and Kojiro."

He paused, his gaze seemingly casually sweeping over Miao Miao's wide, shocked pupils.

After all... their identities are not ordinary.

Ash remembers that Jessie's mother was a former high-ranking member of Team Rocket, while James's family is a super conglomerate... He wonders if this is true for the world.

After saying that, Ash stopped looking at Meowth, who was still standing there in a daze, and simply pulled down his hat brim before turning and walking towards the Cerulean Gym.

"Pikachu?" Pikachu nimbly jumped onto Ash's shoulder.

I looked back at Meow Meow, who was still standing frozen beside the phone booth, as if petrified.

Then it turned its head and gently patted Ash's cheek with its little paws, making a puzzled sound.

—Are we just going to leave it like that?

--partner?

What if it runs away or brings people to cause trouble again?

Xiao Zhi did not stop.

"Pikachu, do you remember their bounty?" He reached out and gently scratched Pikachu's chin.

"Pikachu?" Pikachu tilted its head, trying to recall.

“Twenty thousand per person.” Xiao Zhi’s voice carried a calmness that seemed to have seen through everything. “This level of bounty is less like a wanted criminal and more like… a ‘naughty child’ being put on the list.”

“For truly vicious criminals, even adding a zero to the bounty wouldn’t be enough.”

“Being able to easily ‘get’ them out of jail…” Xiao Zhi’s gaze was meaningful. “Do you understand what that means?”

"Pikachu..." Pikachu nodded as if it understood, then shook its head, still a little confused.

Xiao Zhi smiled and patiently explained, "This means that the people behind them don't care about this little trouble at all, and are even happy to see them so 'active'."

"Keeping Meow Meow and keeping Musashi and Kojiro around will only get us the 40,000 yen we're talking about. There's no other benefit. In fact, it might attract unnecessary attention and real trouble."

"But if we 'put' it back..."

"That means everything will remain the same."

"What they plan is none of our business."

Xiao Zhi lowered his voice.

"partner."

"Our current strength is not enough."

"You have to be at least a Quartz Grand Prix champion... to be eligible to participate in these things."

After clearing 8 gyms, the champion of the regional tournament can be considered an elite Pokémon trainer at the level of an ordinary gym leader.

After clearing 8 dojos, there is no clear training or improvement mechanism.

Every trainer must determine their own future through their own efforts.

"So let's do our best, partner."

"One day we'll make them act according to our whims, instead of us trying to figure out what they're thinking."

The current Ash Ketchum is unlikely to be that naive.

He gains power and travels to another world. He might act a bit immature and childish, but he will definitely not be stupid.

He's Master Zhi!

He's not stupid!

This point must be emphasized.

"Compared to a prisoner filled with resentment who might turn on you at any moment."

Ash is quite certain that Meowth is not the kind of Pokémon with a simple mind.

Meowth is a Pokémon that adapts well to human society, but it has a lot of thoughts.

...It's just that he and Musashi Kojiro have a very close friendship.

The friendship between the Rockets' trio is genuine.

“A free cat that is skeptical, or even 'grateful', is more valuable to us.”

"And I believe..."